Who payed the critics

Absolutely Fantastic

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I didn't even see Dark Shadows on TV until it began running as reruns back in 1976. Even though these episodes were ten years old at the time, I was instantly hooked. I had never seen anything like it - a Gothic soap opera with a vampire as both heartthrob and sympathetic villain. The 1976 reruns did the same thing the initial DVD collection did. It ignored the fact that the first 210 episodes ever existed and started with the appearance of Barnabus Collins in Collinsport, Maine, and the simultaneous disappearance of Willie Loomis, the Collins' handyman. I've never seen the first 210 episodes, but I've read their descriptions. Apparently they revolved around a series of love triangles and mysteries that just weren't that interesting to viewers, and so the storyline was radically changed and TV history was made as a result.Jonathan Frid was really born to play the part of Barnabus. He is not a good looking guy in the classical sense, but he's got style, dignity, and class and was extremely magnetic in the role. Barnabus is a vampire in the mold of Lugosi's Dracula. However, rather than looking to expand an ever-growing harem as Dracula did, Barnabus is a romantic, intent on reclaiming only one lost love. That is the initial emphasis. Even with the magnetic Barnabus, you'll notice the show moves at a snail's pace compared to later episodes. However, what you are seeing is pretty much the way most soap operas progressed up through the early 1970's. The formula for most soap operas in those days was that there was one dynastic and wealthy family, and lots of middle class families with ordinary problems. Problems generally had to do with affairs of the heart with the occasional crime mystery thrown in, and resolution was very slow. Not until 1975 or so did you see everyone in town being CEO of their own company with fashion models as the cast. So have patience, because the pace is definitely worth the overall storyline and the atmosphere.

The genre of supernatural TV has grown and expanded to new heights over the past 20 years. Buffy The Vampire Slayer has become a cult icon as has Angel and Supernatural and other shows such as Blade The Series, Witchblade & Lost Girl were not exactly as well received but they have been entertaining to watch. With all these shows about Vampires, Werewolves and even Succubus' it's important to remember the show that jump-started the genre; Dark Shadows.When viewing this show it is important to remember the times of TV back then. Things usually were so cheap that an actor back then couldn't redo his or her line unless the biggest stuff up imaginable happened. Lets say if they were delivering a monologue when walking down a set of stairs. The ONLY situation where the director would ask for a "take two" is if the actor tumbled down the stairs and broke their neck. Its because of this that you might hear "Its an old music boc-box". Also, even though the sets may look cheap by today's standards it was heavily expensive for a daytime soap of that time and you might see microphones in the corner of the frame or a shadow of one. The whole concept of this was not unheard of for TV back then, when Alfred Hitchcock entered TV with "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Hollywood pretty much put him on the Oscar Blacklist - he would never win an Oscar because he made one little TV show. However it was because of this show - and a few others made around the time; best example I can think of is Star Trek - that TV is now on the same technical level as a normal movie.The above paragraph may seem pointless to some but I'm only 16 years old and consider the above paragraph "selling it to my peers" because with all those technical problems aside, this is a great show.The acting is as good as it can be. Surprisingly there are a few good performances from Jonathan Frid (how could any fan NOT say he was great?), Joan Bennett, Nancy Barrett, John Karlen (at times) and Alexandra Moltke. They are all good but the ones above have little to no stuff ups and the others I've seen either overact or fumble their lines more than the others.You'll see a couple of famous faces such as David Selby, Joan Bennett, Mitch Ryan and Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregard from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory).The main part of the show to get you interested is the deep and complex character of Barnabus Collins. That character is the only reason that this show is even famous because he was a villain yet somehow relatable. If you watch the series of episodes where he tries to turn Maggie Evans into Josette Collins you'll want Maggie to escape Barnabus yes but you will also be worried that they'll discover his little secret of being a vampire and if you are properly engaged in the show you wont want that.Overall this show is at times corny. I admit that this show will make you laugh unintentionally at times but it will also be engaging enough to watch and if you like you can throw it on the back-burner because technical faults gone wrong aside, this is a great show.

DARK SHADOWS is unique as a television show and as a media phenomenon. Most remarkably, it serves as a vortex for the whole of romantic Gothic literature. The ongoing scenario incorporates almost every important classical Gothic work since the novels of Horace Walpole (THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO) and Anne Radcliffe (THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO). Most of the foremost authors of the genre are represented within its epic scope: Charlotte Bronte (JANE EYRE), Emily Bronte (WUTHERING HEIGHTS), Bram Stoker (DRACULA), Mary Shelley (FRANKENSTEIN), Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James (THE TURN OF THE SCREW), Robert Louis Stevenson (THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE), Daphne Du Maurier (REBECCA)...the list goes on and on. DARK SHADOWS' special accomplishment in this regard is not only its comprehensive derivation, however, but its synthesis of fundamental genre elements, presented in a fresh and original manner within its own framework.One aspect of DARK SHADOWS which requires particular comment is the maligned LEVIATHAN storyline, which intensifies the science fiction concepts (such as Parallel Time) that dominate the latter half of the serial. In contrast to the bravura approach of the main body of the show, this story is subtle, suspenseful and genuinely creepy. The generally sober tone is a relief coming after the campiness of the generally excellent "1897 Flashback". LEVIATHAN is DARK SHADOWS for the thinking person.The segment is rich in film and literary influences. The general storyline, loosely based on the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft ("The Dunwich Horror", "The Shuttered Room", "The Shadow Out of Time", "The Thing on the Doorstep", "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", THE HAUNTED PALACE), involves alien creatures from earth's prehistory which absorb the minds and wills of humans in their quest to regain supremacy through the generation of a Leviathan messiah.LEVIATHAN also draws on the 1940's films of Alfred Hitchcock (SUSPICION, SPELLBOUND); film noir (Val Lewton's THE SEVENTH VICTIM); science fiction (Jack Finney's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, John Wyndham's VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED); and shivery paranoid thrillers like THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and Ira Levin/Roman Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY. The subplot based on Oscar Wilde's THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GREY is carried over from the "1897 Flashback". The underworld journey of Quentin and Amanda is a variant on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, while their survival into the twentieth century is borrowed from Barré Lyndon's THE MAN IN HALF MOON STREET (and its Hammer remake THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH). Elements of PORTRAIT OF JENNIE and ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY/THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER are included for good measure.LEVIATHAN represents a return to the mysterious early months of DARK SHADOWS and provides good dramatic material for the actors, notably series star Joan Bennett whose role had been greatly diminished since the advent of Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) and Quentin (David Selby). The segment is deliberately paced, relying on intrigue and suggestion, and may seem dull to viewers conditioned by the wildness and blatancy of the vampires and werewolves which take a back seat for a refreshing change.Rating: EXTRAORDINARY.

After all these years, I still love this program. Back in the day there was nothing more interesting, unusual, or addicting on television than the supernatural adventures of the Collins family. The literary references to the classic Gothic novels (THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE, FRANKENSTEIN, etc) added to the high quality of the series along with time-neutral dialog (I think Carolyn used the word "groovy" exactly once) to make this series still relevant for future generations.Marrying horror movies to soap opera probably sounded outrageous at the time, but it actually worked to provide detail and depth and character development often absent in film. Soap opera episodes were only half an hour back in the 60s, which left viewers hungry for more all the time. The problem with the remake attempts is that a weekly format didn't allow for the depth of character development and detail possible in the original.There was some apparent dissension among the writers about the casting of Barnabas, but most viewers today would agree that this role required a certain level of maturity to be convincing. It provided the career-making role for Jonathan Frid, who set the standard for future vampire characters. He gave Barnabas a depth and texture previously unheard of; without his Barnabas there would never have been a Lestat or a Louis, or a Nick Knight. Or vampire romance novels. His distinctive baritone (which must have won him the role) was both seductive and authoritative. It's difficult to choose the vampire king between him and Christopher Lee. David Selby was dangerously seductive as Quentin, the family black sheep (and werewolf). And that's just the beginning of a great cast, most of whom (sadly) never managed to get such incredible roles again.Since this original series was also very popular in Latin America, I'd love to see Televisa remake it with its own spin. At this moment they have most of the right actors to do it.